Life of the Sand
by Schitzoid
Summary: This fic is about Gaara, Temari and Kankurou, it takes place, like my other fics, 5 months after the Chuunin exams, has Gaara changed? How will he act when he is entered for the Chuunin exam again? [Indefinate hiatus]
1. Part 1 Why me?

Part 1- Why me?

"What are you talking about?" The young red haired boy didn't understand

"It's simple, whoever draws the lowest number from these cards has to buy Baki's birthday present." The blonde haired girl stated, as though the two younger boys were complete idiots

"I'm not an idiot, don't speak to me like that." Ordered the red haired boy

"Or what, you'll kill her?" joked the other boy, he covered up his hair with a hood that had pointed ears

"Maybe…" He stared at them with a threatening look in his eyes; then suddenly, he burst out laughing.

"Gaara! You scared me!" the blonde haired girl scolded him

"I'm sorry Temari, it's not as though I meant it" he picked a card at random from the ones Temari had laid out on the floor, he looked at it, "nine…" he smiled and got up, "I'll be back in a minute."

"But you need to know who wins," objected the hooded boy

"Kankurou, I already know that I don't need to get the present. There are ten cards. No doubt Temari numbered them from either one to ten, or zero to nine. Either way," he smiled, "I win." He turned around and left.

He walked down the corridor, he could hear shouts coming from the room he had just left, "heh, guess Kankurou lost…" He carried on walking until he came to a door. He clasped the handle. "It's cold…"

He turned the handle and opened the door. He turned on the light and looked inside. The room was very boring, not that of your average 12 year old, not that he was an 'average 12 year old.' There was a bed, a bedside table, his gourd of sand and in the far corner there was a desk. On the desk there were a few pictures. There was a picture of himself, Temari, Kankurou and their sensei, Baki. Next to it, there was a picture of his mother; it was the only way he would ever get to see her. He picked up the picture and looked at it, "I'm sorry, if it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one who wishes I was never born." He put the picture down on the table.

He looked at the shougi board on the desk, Temari had been teaching him to play. Really he was better than her but he couldn't tell her. He picked up a piece and moved it. "I win." He moved the piece back so that Temari wouldn't know he messed with it.

He sat on the bed and stared at his gourd. He hated it so much it was unbelievable. He didn't need it when he was at home. He controlled the sand. In hidden sand village it was everywhere. All you hand to do was hold your hand out and you'd feel the sand hit you as it was carried on the strong winds of the wind country. He stared at it. It stank heavily with the odour of blood.

Out of nowhere a strong pain hit him, as though he was hit across the back of the head with Temari's favourite fan. He collapsed onto the floor, holding his head.

"I-I know, I haven't brought you blood in a while."

More pain

"I don't plan to bring you any either."

Another pain, this time sharper, more intense

"Go on, kill me, I don't care. I want to die anyway."

The pain started to fade away

"But you wont let me… When I was born you cursed me with this name. Gaara, the demon who loves only himself…"

The pain went away

Gaara sat up. He hated himself; he hated his father, his mother, the demon that he was sealed with. He hated everyone and everything. Not exactly. He didn't hate everyone.

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A/N-My Gaara fic, Gaara is so kawaii!!!


	2. Part 2 Hate

Part 2-Hate

"Go on, kill me, I don't care. I want to die anyway."

The pain started to fade away

"But you wont let me… When I was born you cursed me with this name. Gaara, the demon who loves only himself…"

The pain went away

Gaara sat up. He hated himself; he hated his father, his mother, the demon that he was sealed with. He hated everyone and everything. Not exactly. He didn't hate everyone. Not Temari, even when he was a 'monster,' he still cared about her. His elder sister. He would have been able to kill Kankurou without a single thought. But he could barely lay a hand on Temari. He never understood why. He didn't hate Kankurou anymore, he was still uneasy about him. Gaara always had this lingering feeling that Kankurou despised him.

"You okay?" came a voice from the doorway

"Yeah… how long were you there for Temari?"

"Long enough to see it's been attacking you again."

"You shouldn't worry about me…"

"You're my little brother, of course I care."

"I killed mother-"

"The way I see it," Temari interrupted him, "the way I see it. Fath- the previous Kazekage killed our mother, and hurt my baby brother before he was born."

"Temari?"

"Damn… I can't even call him father now he's dead…"

"You really hate him don't you?"

"Why shouldn't I? He killed mother and destroyed your life before you had one…"

"I'm sorry…"

"Dammit! Stop apologising! I told you it's not your fault!" She slammed her fist against the wall. She relaxed herself and then rested a hand on his head, "Sorry, about that half-pint." She laughed a little, "I would say you should sleep but you don't so…" She looked at him, she was worried about what this lack of sleep was doing to his mind, "we'll find a way to seal Shukaku… I swear..." She ruffled up his hair a bit. She left the room.

Gaara sat at the edge of his bed and picked up a mirror, really it was a broken shard from one of Temari's old mirrors. Tentatively he touched the scar on his forehead. The one he had given himself when he realised what purpose he was meant to have in life.

The kanji on his forehead, 'ai' meaning love. As in love for himself and love of killing.

"I hate this…" He remembered doing this to himself vividly. He remembered the sensation of using the sand to burn this symbol into his forehead. Until he had fought that Uchiha kid and Naruto, that had been the only time in his life that he had bled.

"Uzamaki… Naruto…" with this thought, he fell asleep

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A/N-What do you think, it's a lot more serious then the other one, I think anyway


	3. Part 3 Family

Part 3-Family

"Uzamaki… Naruto…" with this thought, he fell asleep

*******

"Gaara! Gaara! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He sat up and looked at the worried faces of his elder brother and sister. He looked at Temari first; she had an intense look of worry on her face. He then looked at Kankurou; he looked more like he was worried about Shukaku coming out. There was always this look in Kankurou's eyes of hate, or fear, Gaara was never sure which.

"You fell asleep," Temari answered

"I did? But… Shukaku didn't do anything"

"Maybe it's getting weaker…"

"Doubtful."

"I agree," the normally hooded boy nodded. "But I don't understand why Shukaku would miss an opportunity like this…"

"Maybe Gaara's will was stopping him?"

"Even though he was asleep?" Temari argued

"I have yet to see you come up with an idea Temari."

"Kankurou?" Gaara finally spoke up

"Yeah?"

"Do you hate me?"

"No!"

"Then you fear me…"

"Why would you think that?"

"Every time you look at me… I feel like… like… like you wish I wasn't born. Your eyes are cold, with fear or hatred, just like everyone else… I hate those eyes…"

Kankurou looked at his little brother, "listen, I don't hate you. You scare me sometimes but I don't look at you with cold eyes on purpose,"

"Don't worry about him Gaara," Temari pushed Kankurou to the side, "he looks like he hates everyone…"

"Hey!" Kankurou began to argue

"Shut up idiot. How about we get something to eat?"

"Not hungry," Gaara lay back down on his bed and looked at the ceiling

"But I cooked this really good soup and-"

"Pass, if you're cooking I'm not hungry either." Kankurou passed his verdict

"I know I'm not the best cook in the village…" she poked her index fingers together like a young child

"You're the worst cook in the village," Gaara stood up and walked to the door, "fine I'll give it a try, and Kankurou will too," he turned his head to look at Kankurou, "won't you, brother"

"What?" he looked from Temari to Gaara, "… yeah"

"Good," Temari smiled, making herself look like a little girl, "follow me."

She led them back down the corridor and into their 'social area' as Temari called it. Temari flipped up a table and put down a few bowls and spoons.

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A/N-Is her food going to come out any good? Read the next chapter when it comes out


	4. Part 4 Soup

Part 4-Soup

"Good," Temari smiled, making herself look like a little girl, "follow me."

She led them back down the corridor and into their 'social area' as Temari called it. Temari flipped up a table and put down a few bowls and spoons.

"I'll be back in a minute." She ran out of the room

Kankurou sat down opposite Gaara and stared at him

"What?"

"Nothing"

"Stop staring at me then."

"No."

Gaara put two fingers over his left eye. In his free hand he created a ball of sand

"Gaara, don't. That skill freaks me out."

"So?" He looked at the ball of sand, which now resembled an eye.

"Where's the other one?"

"Near Temari."

"Oh, what's she cooking?"

"It looks like miso ramen"

"That's good…"

"Except she said it was soup"

"That's bad…"

"It's beef, I think."

"That's good, I hope…"

"It looks like it's blue."

"That's bad"

"It doesn't look poisonous"

"That's good… I think…"

"She's spotted the eye"

"That's bad"

"She's smiling"

"That's… good?"

"She's cracking her knuckles"

"That's bad"

"She's about to… damn!" He quickly released his daisan no me before Temari punched the eye that was watching her

"That's good- I mean bad…"

"Kankurou?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Fine."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment until Temari came in. She brought in a tray with three bowls on it that were full of soup. Gaara looked at the bowls that Temari had left out on the table before. He thought he would point it out, but decided it was better for himself if he didn't.

She laid out the bowls on the table and sat down, Gaara simply stared at it, Kankurou traced a pattern in it with his spoon and Temari looked from Kankurou to Gaara and back again.

"It's blue… and it's glowing…" Gaara stared at it a bit more, he couldn't shake the feeling there was something staring back at him, even though he knew it was completely absurd.

"Oh please, it can't possibly be that bad." Temari looked at Gaara who seemed to be having a staring contest with the soup.

"Remember when your cookies turned Yashamaru green?" Kankurou retorted

"I was eight years old, what do you expect?"

Suddenly Gaara stood up and walked into his room. He walked back out, fully clad with his gourd. He walked past them and stopped at the door, "I'm going for a walk." He opened the door and left.

"Kankurou, you idiot! I keep telling you not to mention Ojisan in front of Gaara!" Temari picked up the bowls of soup, if you could call it that, to clear them away. She looked in Gaara's bowl. _Water? No it smells different… Tears? Gaara was crying?_

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A/N-I know this chapter seemed completely pointless but it was necessary for the next chapter


	5. Part 5 Regression

Part 5-Regression

"Kankurou, you idiot! I keep telling you not to mention Ojisan in front of Gaara!" Temari picked up the bowls of soup, if you could call it that, to clear them away. She looked in Gaara's bowl. _Water? No it smells different… Tears? Gaara was crying?_

*******

He closed the door behind him and walked, he didn't know where he was going; he just walked.

_"Lord Gaara, this is it… Please Die…"_

He could remember clearly the day when his uncle sacrificed himself in the hopes of killing Gaara. He really hated Yashamaru for that. Leading him to believe that he cared about Gaara and that his mother loved him, when in reality they both died cursing his existence.

_"Love is… care and devotion you feel for the precious ones around you… Like the feeling Sister had for you."_

_Yeah right, she loved me;_ Gaara thought to himself, _She loved me so much that she cursed my existence before I was born._

_"There is only one thing that can cure such a heartache. However as inconvenient as it may seem, this cure can only be given by people other than yourself…"_

_"… What is it?"_

_"It's love!"_

He used his sand to transport him to the top of a cliff; he enjoyed looking at the moon. It was the only thing that made him feel 'human.' _Love? Who would care about a demon like me? All I do is hurt people… _Gaara thought to himself. For a second he thought of throwing his gourd off the cliff, but he changed his mind. As long as Shukaku was in him and his mothers will remained in the sand, it wouldn't make any difference. Sand was everywhere in this village.

He picked up a stick and wrote his name in the sand on the top of the cliff. He looked at the characters that were used to spell his name. "I… Love… Death…" He looked at each character separately. Even his name was against him. He lay down on the cliff and looked up at the moon. "Sometimes I wish… I could be just another person. One of those people with cold eyes rather than the person receiving them…"

As he watched the glow of the moon, a small bit of white fuzz blocked his view. "What the…?" He sat up and looked to see what it was. "A rabbit?" He stared at it, and it stared back at him. For a second he could have sworn that it smiled at him. He picked it up and looked at it, he saw a flash of orange on it's back. He quickly pulled the paper off the rabbit's back. He encased it in sand; after he heard a muffled explosion he released the sand casing and watched the smoke rise. "Lucky…" he looked at the rabbit; he was convinced it was smiling. _This had to be an assassination attempt, from who?_

As if on cue, a kunai flew towards him. It was stopped by his sand protection, however it was obviously aimed at his head. He turned around to see a woman at the ready with several shurikens. Before he could think the sand shot out and held the woman. He pulled the woman over to where he was and looked at her. He was beyond all possible reasoning now. "Why?"

She looked at him, her eyes frozen with fear and burning with hate at the same time, "because you're a murderer."

"Desert graveyard…" He clenched his fist and the sand crushed the woman. He could hear her muffled screams as the sand clamped down on her. Finally, as if an explosion, her blood and the sand splattered everywhere. Her bones, skin, everything was crushed finely and mixed with the sand. As a bit of the blood mixed sand splattered on his face he went wide-eyed at what he had just done. An intense pain shot through his head, he was sure Shukaku was laughing at him. He collapsed face forward into the ground. He clutched his head in one hand and his other hand grasped the dirt and sand below him. He screamed, he screamed out in pain, he screamed out to anyone who cared.

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A/N-So what did y'all think, it's all 'dramatic' ☻ MUAHAHAHAHAAAA


	6. Part 6 Ritsuko

Part 6-Ritsuko

"Desert graveyard…" He clenched his fist and the sand crushed the woman. He could hear her muffled screams as the sand clamped down on her. Finally, as if an explosion, her blood and the sand splattered everywhere. Her bones, skin, everything was crushed finely and mixed with the sand. As a bit of the blood mixed sand splattered on his face he went wide-eyed at what he had just done. An intense pain shot through his head, he was sure Shukaku was laughing at him. He collapsed face forward into the ground. He clutched his head in one hand and his other hand grasped the dirt and sand below him. He screamed, he screamed out in pain, he screamed out to anyone who cared.

*******

Temari and Kankurou sat opposite each other. Temari tapped her fingers on the table repeatedly.

"Do you have to do that?" Kankurou stared at her

"Sorry… Nervous habit…" She rested her hands in her lap.

Suddenly a scream shot through them. A blood-curdling, ear piercing scream. Temari jumped up and ran to the window. "That was Gaara!"

"How do you know?" Kankurou got up and joined his sister at the window

"I just… know…" She clutched at her chest tightly, _Gaara, please come back safely…_

*******

Gaara wandered through the village absent-mindedly. Eventually he got fed up of walking and used his sand transportation to get home. He arrived in a 'tornado of sand,' and was greeted by a hug from Temari. She clawed into his back and held on to him as though she were a mother holding on to her child.

"Gaara… Are… are you okay?"

"I'm fine…"

"I was so scared." She buried her head in to his shoulder and cried

"Why…?"

"I heard you scream… I-it scared me." She cried even harder

 "Temari, I-I'm fine…" Gaara looked at his elder sister. She held on to him like a mother protecting her child, but she looked sweet and vulnerable like a child herself.

"Gaara…" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She saw a white ball of fluff emerge from behind him and rest on his shoulder. She moved back a bit and looked at it, "what's that?"

"A rabbit…"

"A bunny!" Temari picked it up off of his shoulder and cradled it; it clawed its way out her arms and dashed back to Gaara, "it's very attached to you."

"Yeah, it won't leave me alone…"

"Any idea why?"

"Probably because I saved it… someone stuck an explosion note to it's back…"

"Who would do something like that!?"

"Someone tried to assassinate me today…"

"I thought they stopped!" Temari cracked her knuckles, "I'm gonna have to deal with them."

"Temari, don't worry about it…"

"Fine…" she sighed, "What are you gonna call the rabbit?"

"I was thinking about Ritsuko…"

"Ritsuko… What's that on your face?"

Gaara quickly wiped the forgotten blood and sand mixture off his face, "n-nothing." He got up and walked away, as he was about to leave the room when Temari stopped him.

"Why Ritsuko?"

"It's the name of someone who cares about someone else no matter what. Even though I carry a strong scent of blood, it wouldn't leave me alone…" He looked back at her over his shoulder, "Temari, I killed someone today…" He walked down the corridor to his room

He sat on his bed and let Ritsuko down. She ran around a bit and jumped back in to his lap.

"Knock, knock." 

Gaara turned to see Kankurou standing at the door, "What?"

"I was worried about you…"

"…"

"Look Gaara, you don't have to believe me but I was…" He turned around to leave, "Be careful with Temari, she's in a fragile state and I'm worried about her…" He left.

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A/N-So what did everybody think, I quite liked it ♥☻ and yes, that is part of the meaning of Ritsuko, I'm not entirely sure about the Japanese meaning though


	7. Part 7 Special Request

Part 7-Special request

"Be careful with Temari, she's in a fragile state and I'm worried about her…" He left.

*******

Temari rolled over and turned off her alarm. She hadn't slept at all; she was too rattled. She got up, got dressed, picked up her fan and left.

She headed for the outer boundaries of her village, the desert there was perfect for training, there was a lot of obstacles that were perfect for Chakra training. Quicksand, wild animals, very few trees and the odd bandit.

She stood in front of one of the few trees that actually grew out there.

**"KAMAITACHI!"** Her wind attack, which was mostly used for deflecting weapons, cut through the tree like a laser. There was a delay and then the top half of the tree fell. Temari turned her head to avoid all of the dust and sand that had been sent flying by the tree.

"Not enough…" she walked over to another tree. "If I'm gonna protect my younger brothers, I have to learn this skill. I'm the oldest and both of them are stronger than me…" She snapped her fan shut and stood it up in the sand. She bit her thumb to draw blood. _No matter what it does to me, I have to perfect these skills…_ She slid her thumb across the inscription on the side of her fan leaving a trail of blood, as was traditionally done with scrolls, re-opened her fan and spun it like a shot put, except she didn't let go.

**"NINPOU! DESERT SANDSTORM NO JUTSU!!"** She carried on spinning, each turn faster than the last until eventually she was spinning so fast a tornado had accumulated around her. The tornado had quickly picked up only the sand around her, or had created it's own, until it became a sandstorm, when it dissipated she collapsed. She looked up at the tree she had been standing in front of. It was now a fine dust on the floor. "I did it…" She coughed up a bit of blood but it didn't surprise her, had she been able to stand up she would have done a victory pose however she just had to picture it in her mind.

She rolled over onto her back and looked up at the sky, sunrise was really beautiful in wind country. It was probably about 4am. Thankfully Temari's fan was standing up in the sand so it protected her from the harsh sun. Something was licking her, probably one of the animals that lingered on the village's boundaries, which meant that she was going to have to pull out enough strength to hurt it at the very least. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see what it was. "Ritsuko…?" She raised an eyebrow at the albino rabbit, _if Ritsuko's here, then that means…_ "Where's Gaara…?" She looked up and saw her little brother walking towards her.

"I told you Ritsuko was a good name for her…" Gaara reached out to help up his elder sister, "Temari, I've made up my mind…"

Temari stood up and dusted off her clothes, "about what?"

"I'm going to take the Chuunin exam again…"

"What made you change your mind?"

"I don't know, I just… did…" Gaara looked behind him, as far as he could, out of the corner of his eye

"Gaara," Temari practically shouted, however Gaara simply nodded, signifying that he had noticed the bandit coming up behind them, Temari nodded in agreement and carried on their conversation, "The Chuunin exam is here this year right?" Temari moved her head in order to avoid the kunai that had been thrown at her along with the shout of, 

**"GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!"**

"Don't think so," Temari snorted.

"Bitch! Give me your money or else!" The bandit threw a punch at Gaara only to have it blocked by Gaara's wall of sand, as the thief recovered from the leftover pain from hitting the sand wall, Temari threw a kunai that sent him flying and pinned his hand to a tree.

Gaara and Temari walked over to where the thief was pinned, "What makes you think you can come to our village and attack us? I can tell by your fighting style that you're not a shinobi of the wind country."

"Very good Temari-sama," the thief that was pinned to the tree smiled, at least Temari thought it was a smile, He wore a full-face mask and the space for eyes wasn't big enough to tell.

"How do you know me?" Temari hastily pulled off the mask he was wearing in order to see his face. Long red hair fell from where it was pinned on his head; he looked up at her and blinked, _a girl?_ Temari stared, _and the symbol on her head protector, I recognise it from somewhere…_

"A Sound-nin?" Gaara stared at the girl who was pinned by her hand, he bit his lip; Shukaku was trying to get him to kill her.

_She's really pretty…_

_So?_

_Wouldn't you love to see her blood drained by this sand? _

_No_

_You know you want to hear her scream as the sand crushes her, as her body is turned into nothing more then a paste to feed to the sand_

_Shut up_

_You're a monster Gaara, don't deny it, don't deny your primal urges_

After what felt like years to Gaara, Temari's voice broke through the conflict in his mind, "So first, your village breaks our alliance and then you come into our village and attack us? By rights we should kill you for this." Temari looked at her bother who had suddenly gone wide-eyed at the word kill, "what do you want in this village?"

"Orochimaru-sama has a message for Gaara-sama."

"What is it?" Gaara stared at the redhead intensely

"He wants you to take the Chuunin exam."

"Tell him I already am, and if another one of his sound-nins gets in my way, he won't see them return…"

"Consider it done Gaara-sama," the red haired girl performed a set of hand seals with her free hand and disappeared with the trademark sound left behind by certain jutsu.

"I'm going home." Gaara turned and left, followed closely by Ritsuko

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A/N-Hey, I just remembered, Disclaimer! I do not own Naruto, blah, blah, blah (you know what goes here…) and if I did there would be two episodes a week and four manga chapters a week… And I would have Kishimoto Masashi as my art teacher *nods* R&R ppl!

P.S. I apologise for the lateness of this chapter, I have had **MAJOR** writers block


	8. Part 8 Weaknesses

Part 8-Weaknesses

"I'm going home." Gaara turned and left, followed closely by Ritsuko

"Gaara! Are you-" Temari called out after her younger brother. When he disappeared in a whirl of sand she resumed her training. _That look… Shukaku is getting stronger… Niisan…_ Temari clutched her chest as she thought about her younger brother.

She pulled out another scroll and inspected the label. "Iron fan style, eh?" She opened the scroll; it was a beginner's scroll for learning the basics of iron fan taijutsu, _Mum used to use this style… _She had only been three when her mother was taken from her, but she could remember some of the times she held up Kankurou to the window to watch her train, before her father did that to her and Gaara.

She rummaged around in her bag, she had scrolls, medical aids, weapons, almost everything a Shinobi could possibly need. She pulled out two metal fans, they weren't iron, but it would have to do for now. She cracked them open and looked at the diagram. "Iron fan whirlwind? **That's** basic!" She stared at the scrolls in dismay, she was supposed to hold them both out in front of her, one facing up and the other facing down, and use her chakra to spin them apparently she was supposed to become so proficient with this skill she would be able to manoeuvre them and use it as a proper attack, "here goes…" she sighed.

*******

He sat on the edge of his bed and stared at his gourd, it was weird, normally the sand would dissipate within a few days of him coming back to the village but it had been five months and it was still there… taunting him…

_You should have killed her_

_Shut up_

_You know you wanted to… you wanted to see her blood spill across the desert and sink into the sand… you wanted to hear her scream… you wanted to smell the scent of fresh blood around you…_

_I didn't_

_You wanted to **kill her…**_

_No, you're wrong, I don't want to kill anyone_

_What about that assassin the other day, what about when you killed her? _

_That was different_

_How? _

_I lost control over you and you took advantage_

_You enjoyed it_

_I didn't_

_You loved the look on her face when she realised you were going to kill her! _

_Shut up_

_You loved the sight of her blood mixing with the sand_

_Shut up!_

_You loved it when she screamed, when she tried to escape the desert graveyard_

**_Shut up!_**__

_You loved it when her blood and the sand splattered everywhere_

**_SHUT UP!_**__

_You loved killing her_

**"SHUT UP!!!!"** He slammed his head against the wall, naturally, the sand was there to protect him, but his head connecting with the hardened sand did worse damage than the wall would have done. Blood poured from the cut across his forehead that was left by the sand. He laughed; it wasn't a happy laugh, rather an insane laugh. He wiped his hand across his forehead and looked at the blood on his hand. _This… This is **MY** blood. _He laughed again, this time louder, more insane. Blood dripped from his brow and splashed on the floor.

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A/N- Suspense *cue thriller music* … dum, dum, dummmmmmmmmmm


	9. Part 9 Decisions

Part 9-Decisions

_This… This is **MY** blood. _He laughed again, this time louder, more insane. Blood dripped from his brow and splashed on the floor. He lay down on his side, he wasn't going to sleep, he knew better than that. He closed his eyes and felt something on his face. "Ritsuko…"

It was licking away the blood on his face. His eyes flickered open and he looked at the rabbit, it backed away a bit. "You're scared of me? No surprise…" 

It licked away some more of the blood on his face

"Ritsuko…?"

It cocked its head to the side and stared at him, it's red eyes boring into him.

_The rabbit likes the taste of blood…_

_I thought you were going to be quiet Shukaku_

_It likes the scent too…_

_I know how to hurt you Shukaku, I've figured out the weakness of the sand's auto defence_

_That's why it followed you, not because it cares…_

_I'm smarter than you Shukaku_

Silence

_Nothing to say?_

_You will **NEVER **be smarter than me! _

_Shukaku, if I have to, I will kill myself to get rid of you._ He could hear Shukaku Laughing at him, amused by his threats. His laughter faded, as did Gaara's consciousness. As Shukaku's laughter disappeared, Gaara closed his eyes; the loss of blood had made him tired. His vision blurred and then went black

*******

She took a breath and looked at the tree, there were chunks missing all over it. She was surprised the tree could still stand. She stopped to think for a minute, she could barely breathe and she needed to relax for a minute

_There's only a few weeks left until the exam_

_Do you really think you'll be able to keep up with your brothers?"_

_It's about all I've been able to do…_

_What makes you think you can pass this time, the new Kazekage hates you three, she won't let you pass. _

_It's not only up to her…_

_Give it up Temari, you're turning to yourself for advice and even I'm against you, face it, you don't have what it takes. _

_Just shut the hell up_

_You know it's true Temari… _the voice faded away, Temari rocked herself for comfort and finally decided

_I'm going to learn these jutsus, get stronger and pass this exam… who knows the sand better than the sand nins?_

She stood up and prepared herself for the next skill, "No rest for the wicked, eh?"

*******

Gaara's eyes flickered open. He looked around through the haze in his eyes, as he adjusted to the surroundings he realised that he didn't recognise his surroundings, he sniffed and realised that he was surrounded by the stench of blood. He reached up to wipe the dust from eyes and saw that he was covered in blood. He jumped back and shouted, he didn't know what he said, just that he didn't understand what was going on.

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A/N-I apologise for the shortness of this chapter but it works… I hope


	10. Part 10 Nightmare

Part 10-Nightmare

Gaara's eyes flickered open. He looked around through the haze in his eyes, as he adjusted to the surroundings he realised that he didn't recognise his surroundings, just desert… everywhere… He sniffed and realised that he was surrounded by the stench of blood. He reached up to wipe the dust from eyes and saw that he was covered in blood. He jumped back and shouted, he didn't know what he said, just that the only thing he did understand was that he didn't understand what was going on.

He ran, for seconds… minutes… hours… days… he lost all track of time, he ran until he could run no more… he stopped to take a breath and looked at the area where he had stopped.

"Gaa… ra…" A voice from behind him called out, Gaara whipped around. It took him a moment to recognise the character before him, half-submerged in the sand, covered in blood.

_Green clothes… bandages… bowl cut… fuzzy eyebrows… lower eyelashes… _"Rock… Lee…?"

"Are you happy now Gaara? Have you proven your existence now?" He stared at Gaara as the sand encased his body. His glare pierced through Gaara as life died from his eyes

"No… I didn't do this…" Gaara turned around and ran again, he hadn't recovered much stamina yet, but it was enough to get him far away from the sight he had just witnessed. He ran a bit more and stumbled. He landed face down in the sand, he thrashed around a bit, "What's going on around here!?"

"Unusual behaviour… Gaara… sama…"

"Yashamaru?" Gaara looked up out of the sand, there was a head, almost completely covered in sand. Just enough of the face wasn't covered so that Gaara could recognise the face of his uncle

"Why haven't you died yet Gaara-sama?"

"My existence won't be extinguished…" He looked away from his uncle

"Kill… kill only for your sake… Gaara-sama…" The sand encased Yashamaru's face

"What the…" He turned in another direction and ran again. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at what was before him. A girl, pink hair, green eyes, she was holding a dark haired boy, black eyes. They both stared at him with frighteningly cold eyes.

"Get away from us." The girl tightened her grip around a kunai that she had at her side. The sand was slowly 'bleeding' upwards, enveloping their bodies

"I haven't…" Gaara began; he looked at the pink haired kunoichi. _She really cares about him…_

"Haven't… what…?" The raven-haired boy looked up at him, there was blood dripping down his face. The sand had almost completely covered his body and was writhing up his neck

"Come to murder someone else? Wind country's greatest, Gaara of the Desert, nothing but a **demon!**"

Gaara glared at the pink haired shinobi, how dare she talk to him like a… like a… like a… a monster… "What?"

"You kill for the sheer joy of killing, how are you not a demon?" The sand snaked across the contours of her face, across her eyelids, above and below her lips until all that was left were her features that stood out.

"I am not a demon…"

"Are you sure?" The onyx-eyed boy closed his eyes as the sand covered up the last of his features; random patches of red bled through as the sand absorbed his blood

"They should never have brought anything like you into this world…" The sand covered the last of her features

Gaara turned again; he forced himself to run as fast as he could. He felt like he was going to die, he couldn't take this anymore, why was this happening; he couldn't get his head round what was going on.

"Gaara…" A voice stopped him; he swivelled on his heels to look at the boy who called him, "were you able to love?"

"Why should you care?" Gaara hissed at the boy before him, "Uzamaki Naruto…?"

"Stop this Gaara…" Naruto raised his hand to show the sand covering it, snaking up his arms and legs, wrapping around his body

"I have no control over what's happening around here…"

"I suppose you had no control over that either," He gestured to the gruesome scene behind him, Gaara squinted to recognise the two.

"No…" He ran over, faster than he had moved in his entire life, he skidded and landed on his knees, he noticed the boy first. His clothes were almost entirely covered in blood; his face was stuck in a clear expression of shock and fear. There was blood all over his face, almost entirely covering his features. His hood had partially fallen off and his hair was matted to his face, "Kankurou…"

He turned, the second body was slightly less gruesome, or more, all a matter of opinion. He shifted over and looked down at the face. Sandy blonde hair stained red with blood, matted to her face. Dry blood mixed with wet blood, drizzling from her mouth and nose, dark aqua blue eyes swollen with tears, narrowed with mixed emotions. "Temari… Temari?" Breath, ragged, shallow, quick.

"Gaara…?" She managed to choke out, voice, raspy, probably from screaming

"Temari," Gaara propped up her head onto his lap, "are you… okay?"

"Are you happy now Gaara?" Aqua eyes narrowed to slits, brow furrowed, "is this what you wanted?"

"Temari I didn't-"

"I thought you changed… I thought you cared about us but… I guess it was an act… I guess you didn't want to be my brother…"

"Temari please-"

"Just leave Gaara, you already killed Kankurou…"

"I didn't."

"Thanks to you I'm practically dead…"

"But-"

"Go away…"

"You're not-"

"Get away from me!" She shouted, her last breath, gone. Eyes, awash with intense hatred, pain, misery

"Temari? Temari? **TEMARI!**" He shook her body, lifeless limbs flailed about in the air

"Gaara?"

"Don't die Temari! Please!"

**"Gaara!"**

"Temari, don't leave me, don't die! I don't want this!" Gaara shook her body again, lifeless limbs thrashed about in the sand

**"GAARA!"**

"Temari, I didn't kill Kankurou! I don't want you to die! **Temari!**" He shook her body one last time, hoping, praying that she would take in another breath. Lifeless limbs disturbed the restless sand once again.

**"GAARA!!!!"**

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A/N-what do you guys think? It's the longest chapter I've written so far, don't get used to this length. I've complied with people's requests for the return of Kankurou in the next chappie, and to people who say that his name is spelt Kankuro, you're all wrong! Firstly, I got his name of an official Naruto site; secondly if you translate the Katakana used to spell his name it is Ka-n-ku-ro-u, so blah!

Disclaimer thingy-I do not own Naruto blah, blah, blah and if I did, whatever I said in chapter 7 and I would have millions of free Naruto products ☻


	11. Part 11 Realisation

Part -Realisation

"Get away from me!" She shouted, her last breath, gone. Eyes, awash with intense hatred, pain, misery  
"Temari? Temari? **TEMARI!**" He shook her body, lifeless limbs flailed about in the air

"Gaara?"

"Don't die Temari! Please!"

**"Gaara!"**

"Temari, don't leave me, don't die! I don't want this!" Gaara shook her body again, lifeless limbs thrashed about in the sand

**"GAARA!"**

"Temari, I didn't kill Kankurou! I don't want you to die! Temari!" He shook her body one last time, hoping, praying that she would take in another breath. Lifeless limbs disturbed the restless sand once again.

**"GAARA!!!"**

****

Kankurou shook his brother by the shoulders, he was afraid something would happen to him if he didn't wake up, there was blood almost completely covering his face, coming from a cut that was streaked across his forehead, his hair was matted to his face. The blood was dripping off of the sides of his face and the top part of his shirt was stained red. Kankurou couldn't help but wonder how long he had been lying there for before he had found him  
"GAARA! WAKE UP!"  
Kankurou shook him by the shoulders again, he was afraid Gaara would die if he didn't wake up, or worse, he would loose himself in Shukaku. Gaara's head jerked back and forth and some of his blood splattered on to Kankurou's shirt.  
"Gaara? GAARA! Wake up!"  
Gaara's eyes snapped open, his arms shot out and grabbed Kankurou's shirt.  
"I DIDN'T KILL THEM!!! I DIDN'T… I wouldn't I SWEAR!!!"  
"Gaara, who didn't you kill?"  
"You're not here, you're dead, Shukaku killed you… but it wasn't me, I wouldn't do that, I swear! Please, believe me!" Gaara tightened his grip on Kankurou's shirt, almost like he was holding on for safety, Kankurou stared at his younger brother, it was completely unlike him to be this erratic, or, to show his emotions like this  
"Gaara…" Kankurou pried Gaara's hands off of his chest, "I'm not dead… no one's dead…"  
Gaara took a deep breath and tried to rationalize his thoughts, "Temari… wh-where i-is she…" He took a breath, "is… is she alive?"  
"Temari's fine… She might be a little bruised but she's fine, she's out in the desert, training," Kankurou stared at his brother with worry, he couldn't resist a smile as Gaara breathed a sigh of relief, "Gaara, what freaked you out this much?"  
"Nothing… I don't want to talk about it…" Gaara stood up, he wiped a hand across his forehead and saw it covered in blood; he simply stared at it in disgust and walked off.  
Kankurou chased him down and turned him around, "Gaara, you were screaming… a lot"  
"I don't care," he pulled his arm out of Kankurou's grip and carried on walking away, "just leave me alone."  
"Gaara!" He ran down the corridor and stood in front of Gaara, barring his way, "Why don't you ever treat me like your older brother?"  
Gaara simply glared at Kankurou, "because you never acted like one…" Gaara pushed his way past  
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Kankurou shouted, however he received no answer, Gaara didn't want to talk anymore.  
Ritsuko bit him and ran past, Damn rabbit… He walked out of the house; he headed to the grounds where Temari usually trained. He could see her faintly through the sandy haze, He ran over to where she was, protecting his face from the sand on the wind.  
**"TEMARI!"** He shouted at his elder sister, she was so absorbed in her training that she didn't hear him, **"TEMARI!"** He shouted again, this time she turned her head to look at him  
**"WHAT!?"** She shouted, partially mocking Kankurou  
Kankurou gave her a dull look, "it's Gaara, I think there's something wrong..."  
"How do you mean?"  
"I think he had a nightmare, a particularly bad one... he was screaming..."  
Temari whipped around and stared at him, "s-screaming?"  
"It gets worse," Kankurou took a breath, Temari's outburst wasn't going to be fun, "when I came to see what was happening, his entire face was covered in blood..." Kankurou subconciously took a step back, for fear of his own safety  
**"NANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"** Temari screamed at him, **"HOW THE HELL DID HE MANAGE TO INJURE HIMSELF!!!"**  
"I don't know..."  
**"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!? HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW!!!"**  
Kankurou flinched slightly, he was sure he had felt some spit hit his face, "He wouldn't tell me... he just told me to leave him alone..."  
Temari stopped shouting and looked at Kankurou, "this is Shukaku's doing... Gaara was finally starting to open up, finally starting to get along with the villagers... Shukaku doesn't want that..." She paused in thought, "was he sleeping...?"  
"Pretty deeply..."  
"This isn't good, if this keeps up, Gaara's going to lose himself in that... 'thing's' personality." Temari turned towards their home, "I'll find out what it is..." 

****

Gaara took a washcloth and wiped the remaining blood off his face, he looked at the cut across his forehead and sighed. He took a bandage from a cabinet and wrapped around his head, the idea of actually wearing his forehead protector on his forehead crossed his mind, but he dismissed the idea.  
He walked into the kitchen and opened a cupboard, and then the next, and the next, slamming each one shut in proccession  
"All we have is ramen..."  
He rummaged for a while, trying to see if there was anything other than ramen, and he forund pocky, of course if there ws any food he hated more than ramen, it was pocky  
"Damned Kankurou... and Temari..."  
"Anything wrong Gaara?"  
Gaara turned around and saw Temari and Kankrou in the doorway, "nothing..."  
"Are you sure?" Temari walked over to him, "you look pretty messed up"  
"I'm fine..."  
"No, you're not... Gaara you need to open up to us and tell us what's going on," she took another step towards him, "I'll do whatever it takes to help my little brother..."  
"Well maybe I don't want your help..." He turned around and left  
Temari stood there for a moment and blinked as she heard a door slam from Gaara's room. She turned to face Kankurou, "it's Shukaku, he's getting to Gaara... we need to do something before he makes Gaara something worse than a monster... If Shukaku gets his way, Gaara will be a demon..."  
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A/N- Thank you so much for all your reviews, I'm sorry it took so long but I couldn't find a program to format my chapters, don't worry y'all, I don't plan on leaving this story midway 


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